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About Me
I'm the Pickups host here at Edmunds CarSpace.com - be sure to check out the Pickups forums if you have or are interested in one!
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The Big Rigs
We're gonna talk about the big ones... trucks and buses that require those 3 marker lights front and rear. Everything from dual rear wheel pickups to class 8 trucks to the bus that takes you to work.
 In the July/August 2008 issue of Road King (a magazine dedicated to truckers and trucking), there's an article about actual road music. I'm not talking about FM, satellite, CDs, or your iPod... I mean sounds made by the road itself. It was accidentally invented in Japan by a man who inadvertently scraped some pavement with a bulldozer. When he drove over the grooves, he noted that it made specific sounds.
Researchers took the concept to the next level and there are now roads in Japan that are specifically grooved to create 30-second "music clips". Such roads are marked with a big musical note on the pavement, as shown in the picture.
Let's see... I-40 would definitely be a country-western highway, I-95 would be pop/dance, I-5 most certainly the hard rock road....
What do you think? Would this work in the US, or would hearing such "music" drive you nuts on a road trip?
 Yes, that annual assault on the highway by families with freshly-dismissed-from-school kids in the backseat playing those corny road trip games or poking each other until a parent bellows "Don't make me come back there!"
In the current issue of Road King magazine, there's an article reminding truckers that the assault is near, and to be careful of those drivers who may be in over their heads. In the article, Roehl Transport's Brian Hammond, the orientation and driver development manager, mentions something I have been saying for ages... "[Hammond] often wonders why there aren’t similar licensing requirements for driving the RVs as there are for semi-truck drivers." I don't know about you, but when I see some old guy trying to handle a full-size Winnebago on any road, I get FAR away from him. If the stricter CDL is required for people who generally still have their reflexes, you have to wonder why retirees are allowed to pilot similar sized vehicles with just the ability to pay for the thing.
 If you are planning to partake to the roads this summer, keep the same things in mind the article advises truckers. Expect everything. Yes, that car will dart out in front of you. Yes, that van will speed through the puddle and splash water 10 feet in the air before you can close your window. Yes, your kids will only want burgers and fries the whole trip. (OK< that last one really isn't a driving concern, unless you just passed a fast-food joint and the next exit with one is another 80 miles.)
But above all, be patient. If you're sitting in traffic like this, just relax. Everyone around you is also sitting in that traffic and their need to move forward is no greater or lesser than yours.
Oct 30, 2007 -
Oooooo!
 I-287 in central NJ this afternoon.
We're at the height of fall foliage time, and the country highways are looking good. If you can make the time (and can afford the fuel), this is a good time to take a quick side trip for a reminder of what Mom Nature is capable of.
And have your passenger snap away with the camera... be it film, digital, or cell phone. you'll be surprised how much you'll like the results!
Peyton showed us last night he has no ill effects of "Super Bowl hangover"... man, what a blowout.
To the left is NBC commentator John Madden's current ride, his customized MCI E4500 LX conversion coach. This is his fifth coach after using Amtrak for many years to get between games. His main driver, Willie Yarborough, has been with him since 1987. Yarborough was a Greyhound driver who was one of two winners to drive Madden when Greyhound made the initial deal to transport Madden in a converted coach (a 1987 MCI 102A3 converted coach painted in regular Greyhound livery). Madden became so comfortable with Yarborough, he hired him outright, and he's been the main driver ever since.
 Madden's home away from home is outfitted with 4 plasma high-def televisions, a granite-trimmed kitchen (floor tiles and countertops), two bathrooms (including a steam shower in the master suite), and a queen-size bed for Madden. It weighs in at 45,000 pounds and gets approximately 5-6 mpg of diesel. It was delivered last summer, and cost approximately $800,000.
Conversion coaches have been the entertainment industry's vehicle of choice for decades. They have ranged from used school buses and retired city buses to multi-million dollar custom units made from shells by MCI and their main North American competitor, Prevost Car.
As for football... I'm a Giants fan. Seen them in person at every home stadium they've had since the old Yankee Stadium. Thanks to my dad working at the Meadowlands Sports Complex for almost 25 years, I got a few "perks" over the years at Giants Stadium, and I was even standing in the tunnel for one of the Giants' worst losses in the 80s,... the famous Flipper Anderson play in the 1989 playoffs against the Rams. He ran right past me as he entered the tunnel, screaming like a banshee, and it was all I could do not to trip him. I also remember the look on Lawrence Taylor's face as he walked off the field... it was an expression that said "Don't give me a reason to slam you through a concrete wall."
Prediction: Giants will go 9-7.
Songs and albums that somehow cause your right foot to press harder on the go pedal, in no particular order:
- ZZ Top Greatest Hits
- Brian Setzer Orchestra: The Ultimate Collection
- these three songs played in a row: Rock the Casbah (The Clash), My Sharona (The Knack), and Jumping Jack Flash (Rolling Stones from the Flashpoint live album)
- the live version of The Devil Went Down to Georgia by the Charlie Daniels Band, with the extended bridge ("Johnny's cuttin' up tonight, ain't he?" - Charlie Daniels)
- You Really Got Me, Destroyer, and All Day and All of the Night by the Kinks
- Louie Louie - only the original
- Neutron Dance by The Pointer Sisters (just visualize the truck chase at the beginning of Beverly Hills Cop), followed by I'm So Excited
- What is Hip by Tower of Power... classic 70s horns
- Get Away by Earth Wind & Fire (the original)
- Money for Nothing by Dire Straits, the live version at Wembley
- What'd I Say by Ray Charles, parts 1 and 2
- All Time Greatest Hits by Barry White (especially if you're on your way to see that special somebody)
- Westbound and Down/Eastbound and Down by Jerry Reed from the original Smokey and the Bandit soundtrack
- Idol Songs: 11 of the Best by Billy Idol
- Shout by the Isley Brothers, parts 1 and 2
- Twist & Shout by the Beatles (think Ferris Bueller)
What songs put your clean driving record at risk?
I haven't been on a plane in 29 years... August 1978 to be exact. And with all the added steps/issues/hassles/(insert your choice of descriptor) involved these days, who knows when I'll bother to enter a pressurized metal tube to go hurtling through the atmosphere.
I'm definitely a road trip guy.
From my home, by the time I get to the nearest airport (Newark International), go through check-in and security, wait, board, wait some more, and finally back away from the gate, I can easily be 200 miles down an interstate.
My last long road trip was October 1999, when my trusty 1996 Dodge Ram 3500 dually and I drove from north NJ to Dallas and back, a total of 3100 miles. And thanks to the Cummins diesel under the hood, I averaged almost 20 mpg the whole trip. Not bad for a truck weighing in around 7000 pounds.
And look at all the benefits of a quality road trip:
- you can hit the road any time of day or night and avoid rush hours
- you can stop anywhere from a sandwich shop to a 4-star restaurant to eat... no little bags of peanuts for $5
- you can see things besides clouds
- you're in control of the "on-board entertainment"
- when you're tired, you can pull over for a nap or find a cheap motel
- you know exactly where your luggage is
- you never have to worry about a driver taking you "the long way" at your destination
 There's a great book that helps with planning a great road trip: The Next Exit: USA Interstate Highway Directory by Mark Watson. It describes what destinations, features, and services are available at interstate highway exits, so that you can plan things like food/fuel stops, travel breaks, side trips/attractions, or a place to grab some zzz's. Also a great resource for truckers and long-distance motorcoach drivers who spend far more of their lives on the highway than their home street.
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